A hazmat crew was called out to a building in New Jersey, after several residents and emergency responders became ill from fumes believed to have come from chemicals used to kill bed bugs.
EMT and firefighters first responded to the building in Elizabeth after receiving a report of a woman having a seizure. As they were bringing the woman down from her fourth floor apartment, the emergency responders noticed a strange odor. The source of the odor, officials said, was believed to be an apartment that had been recently fumigated for bed bugs.
Suddenly one of the EMTs couldn't breath or feel their hands and a fire captain began vomiting, officials said. Another EMT began to feel sick, along with a fire fighter who felt tightness in his chest. Two children and two adults living in the building also became sick from the fumes.
In total, nine people had to be taken to the hospital for respiratory problems, officials said.
A County hazmat crew responded to the scene and discovered the pesticide believed to have made everyone sick. Two apartments were decontaminated.
Authorities did not evacuate the building, but residents were told to either stay in their apartments or outside of the building while the chemicals were dispersed with fans.
"This is the response that had to come out here because we had so many people get sick," said Deputy Fire Chief Andy Sandoukas. "We just wanted to make sure that nobody else in the building got sick."
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